Sammi(in Punjabi سمی ) is a Pakistani television drama serial about social causes that airs on Hum TV from 28 January 2017. It is written by Noor ul Huda Shah and directed by Saife Hassan. Set in rural Rahim Yar Khan, the series centers social issues on the rural society revolving around the concept of Vanni and shows moral lessons against common issues such as gender discrimination. Depicting the Vanni concept, storyline revolves around the journey of Sammi, a young girl who was sold off by her family to the Chaudhry family where her brother had killed her fiancé. Simultaneously it revolves around reality based issues with different characters within the same plot. It was nominated for Best Drama Serial at the 6th Hum Awards.
The series stars Mawra Hocane as Sammi, Adnan Siddiqui as Rashid Chand, Rehan Sheikh as Chaudhry Rab Nawaz, Sania Saeed as Chandni, Bilal Khan as Aaliyan, Ahad Raza Mir as Salar, Saman Ansari as Salima, Madiha Rizvi as Zulekha Chaudhry and Nadia Afghan as Naheed.
It was co-created and co-produced by the creative head Momina Duraid with Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs. The show was first aired on Hum TV, as a part of night programming all under Duraid's production company.
Plot
The Series takes place in the village Rahim Yar Khan with the story of a young educated girl Sammi Jutt who is marrying Pervaiz Chaudhry. On the day of her Nikkah, her brother, Waqas, demands extra payment for their Mahr Payment, (a promised amount of money paid by the groom), from Pervaiz. This leads to a physical altercation between them in which Waqas kills Pervaiz in anger. After the cancellation of wedding, Pervaiz's father Fazal insists his younger brother, Rab Nawaz (a political leader and feudal lord of the Rahimabad area of district Rahim Yar Khan), get justice by ordering Waqas killed. However, Sammi's parents beg Rab Nawaz for their son's life and offered their daughter as a Vanni, (selling her off for the sake of their son). Rab Nawaz accepts to their offer and announces Sammi as a Vanni to the entire village. To save Sammi's future, Fazal denies accepting her as Vanni, which leads to chaos. Villagers turn against Rab Nawaz, who decides to wed Sammi off to his twelve-year-old son in order to gain a higher reputation with the village
Since the village has never sought police or law for justice, everyone assists Rab Nawaz. A nerveless Fazal remains silent while Sammi is kept as a captive in Chaudhry's Haveli.
The series also depicts Rashid Chand's family. Rashid is Rab Nawaz's respected servant since his mother Zarina remained his Milk kinship. Zarina and Rashid consider themselves Rab Nawaz's slaves over generations.
Salima, Rashid's wife, receives constant criticism from her mother-in-law because of failed attempts to have a son, resulting in five daughters. This parodies the illiteracy village series and gender discrimination, where woman are blamed for giving birth to daughters.
The series takes a turn when, Zulekha Chaudhry, Rab Nawaz's wife, fears her son's future and asks Rashid to escape with Sammi from the village. Rashid helps Sammi escape from Rahim Yar Khan and sends her to Karachi to live with Chandni, who was once Rashid's fiancé. In order for Sammi to stay, Chandni tells her to work in her beauty salon. Over time, Sammi gains respect in Chandni's Saloon and Salar (Chandni's Son) begins to develop feelings for her. On the other hand, Salima loses her unborn child and befriends Naheed, her nurse, who is also the victim of gender discrimination. Her brother and sister-in-law took over all the property after their parent's death and forced her to work, taking her salary. During Salima's monthly checkups, Zarina decides to take Rashid's proposal to Naheed's brother.